A Second Chance - Jinx and Ekko
by AirmanCompSci
Summary: Jinx and Ekko have had an interesting relationship after their gang fell apart. Ekko has stayed friends with Jinx, although reluctantly, even though things have changed. And not for the better. It follows the lore (current lore as I find it, which seems to be a mix of the old Institute of War lore combined with more recent releases) quite strictly. Tells of how got into the League.
1. Chapter 1: Restock

Chapter 1: Restock

An eerie quiet fills the Zaun gray sky. Darkness threatens to envelope the pipes and factories of the city-state. At this time of day, the usual dark and twisted business down in the streets tends to die down and citizens return to their homes. It is during this hour when a new type of business takes hold, when gangs and criminals alike make their presence known. When no one can do anything about it, because if you try, than you never know who might come out of the pipes. And where. It is in the darkness when one can't tell apart the innocent from the guilty, or the mad from the sane. Not until it is too late.

Zap! A rat scurries across one of the pipes in wild strides, high pitched squeals escaping its lungs. Zap! The pipe in front of it burns bright white for a split second. Another loud squeak leaves its lungs as it attempts to escape its impending doom. The sound of its claws skittering across the pipes ring through the streets below. A giggle is heard from the assailant above.

"Seriously, screaming helps… not at all." Zap! The rat stops moving as it is hit head-on by another ray of light. The carcass explodes in a brilliant light show of sewer chemicals the rat digested. Brilliant blues and greens cover the pipes in an unnatural glow. A crazed laugh echoes through the city as the gore slowly slides off the pipes onto the city below, where it makes itself at home with the scenery. A young woman sits on the edge of one of the buildings still laughing, still caressing Zap against her chest like a mother would a newborn baby, on the bare skin of her stomach. Her combat boots are kicking in the air with each laugh, her body shaking from the force of her laughter. The cool air seems to have no effect on her, even as she wears shorts barely long enough and a bikini top lined with bullets. She seems at home with Zap, and even more so surrounded by Fishbones, pow-pow and a lone flame-chompers.

A cold green metal hits her throat, glowing slightly. The laughing stops and her face grows somber. The woman moves her other hand toward her hip and pulls a pin from her last flame-chompers. Her hand is the only thing keeping it from going off.

A smile begins to spread across her face.

"Won this fight already – doing it again for fun." A man of 17 reveals his face from the shadows, his dark skin in sharp contrast to his white hair and paint creating an image of an hourglass on his face. Small and thin, he exhibits a build like that of a runner or an acrobat, but that visual prowess is only enhanced by what he brought with him: the clockhand on her throat, and the Z-Drive by his side. The time-winder is probably hidden in his back pocket. He only uses it when he has to.

"Well, you know I can just make us go BOOM whenever I want though," the woman smirks through a dark smile. Her hand loosens slightly on flame-chompers.

"But I know you won't," and he moves the clock-hand away from her neck, "Jinx." Once again, Jinx's laughter fills the air. She holds up her hand and looks at flame-chompers. She kisses the grenade quickly than throws it into a pipe below. A couple seconds later, they hear it plop in a pool of muck within the sewers. A couple seconds after that, a loud explosion rings through the air and fire of different greens, blues, and pinks spout out of the pipe from which it entered. Jinx's laughter renews louder than before. Gore rains down on the streets as the remains of the rats who made the sewers their homes saw their resting places in the streets of Zaun.

"You know, Ekko. That was my last flame-chompers. You know what I am like if I don't have enough flame-chompers." A chuckle is heard from Ekko as he goes around her and takes a seat on the building's edge. Behind him he drags a dirty gray bag, its color similar to the Zaun sky. He reaches inside and pulls out a flame-chomper. Jinx instantly grabs it from his hands as a wide smile spreads across her face. Like a giddy girl with a new toy, she hugs flame-chompers and clips it onto her belt.

"There is more. Everything you asked for." Ekko gestures to the bag in his hand. Jinx squeals and grabs the bag ruthlessly from Ekko. She jumps up and dumps the contents on the roof behind her. She begins to russle through what she claimed now as hers. A dozen new flame-chompers. Four more bands of ammunition for Pow-pow. Wait, are those the new heat-guided bullets? Jinx takes a closer look at the back of one of them. Sure enough, there it was: small, but barely visible circuitry. No one could escape her rain of bullets now. All it needed at this point were explosives inside them to go off in whoever she shoots. She wraps two of the belts across her waste and the last two across her chest. She picks up several packets of ammo for Fishbones which she tucks on her back beside it. Then she picks up the last item sitting on the ground. On first glance, it looks like more ammo for Fishbones, another rocket to be used. But it is slightly larger, slightly different.

"Did you manage to increase the blast radius like I asked?" Jinx asks, as she picks up the rocket and begins to look into its exhaust pipe.

"Even better, I increased the blast radius AND the initial power. It does take some time to rank up though, so it is better to use it from a distance."

"Hah," Jinx smirks, "this is perfect. Exactly what I needed."

"What exactly _do_ you need this for?" Ekko gets up and starts to make his way toward Jinx cautiously. An uneasy tension fills the atmosphere between them for a second. Jinx finishes her inspection of the improved mega rocket, and straps it on her back, facing away from him.

Ekko takes another step forward toward her and Jinx freezes, gazing behind her slightly. She takes a deep breath.

"You know why. I have unfinished business there." Ekko takes one more step and starts to play with her braid. A couple seconds pass, then a couple more. The night takes on a fainter tone and all that can be seen is the two figures in the darkness.

"Jinx, you know you can stay here. You always loved the colors those rats made when you hit them with Zap. And your ideas for what to make have always been endless. Your place is here, in Zaun, with your friends," Ekko hesitates and stops playing with the braid, "with me."

"Ekko..." Jinx breaks away from him and begins to walk across the rooftop.

"Wait, please!" Ekko takes one step in her direction, and once again she stops. "Please, if you could at least let…"

"Hey Fishbones," Jinx interrupts, "will he ever listen?" She turns around and looks straight at him. "You stay here, with your lost children. You protect them. I have work to do, and I am not gonna let you risk it just so you can stay by me." She lets out a menacing laugh for a second and throws her hands up in the air. "Oh god! How many times have you tried to convince me in the last few minutes? How many times have your tried? Twenty? Thirty? I'll replace your time winder with an active flame-chompers if you even try. HAH. You were always something Ekko. You can't protect everyone. We both know that," Ekko looks at his feet, his face hidden in the darkness, "so just let it go! Let me blow some stuff up for once without you adding a safety in everything I use…" Her eyes twinkle as she mentions blowing stuff up. Ekko always loved how passionate she could get. Especially since it was his inventions that made her so satisfied. Although her passion used to be for things other than what it has turned into. He kept his face hidden and turned his back to her. There is no way he can make her stay, not without blowing both of them up.

"I'll miss you, Jinx."

"I know." Jinx turns away from him and disappears among the pipes. But not until a small smile crosses her face. The only genuine one she may ever give, but hidden in the shadows.

And Ekko just sits at the edge of the building again looking down at the remains of the rats below. Alone, his expression somber and unwavered, with one small tear gliding down his cheek to the pipes below.


	2. Chapter 2: Gone

**Chapter 2: Gone**

 _Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

It is hours into the night and Ekko has not moved. The moon above makes the gray Zaun sky glow as its rays of light attempt to break through the polluted air. His Z-Drive sits pulsating by his side, already set to go back to after his conversation with Jinx.

 _Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

Ekko blinks. He turns his head toward his pocket and pulls out a small, flat, and thin rectangular piece of glass and metal, its corners pulsating green.

 _Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

Ekko taps one of the corners twice and the pieces of glass and metal come alive. The beeping stops and a map of Zaun appears on the glass, a red dot skirting across it, a few miles from where he is. _Jinx, what now…_ Ekko inserted a tracker into Jinx's improved mega rocket. It is not set to go off until she leaves Zaun though, and sure enough, she is just outside the city. He knows that she wants to leave, he just hoped not this early. Suddenly, the dot stops moving, close to one of the pubs foreigners tend to visit when passing through the area.

Ekko sits there watching the dot for a minute as it rests inside one of the buildings. The dot adjusts slightly and a few seconds later, the skyline lights up. An explosion is heard across the city. _JINX! NO!_ His hand immediately goes to the dial on his arm, but then the tracker stops him. She is still there, seemingly pacing just outside the pub. Then she stops moving.

Then she disappears.

Ekko's hand slams onto the dial, and he sits back on the building's edge, a couple hours before, Jinx's footsteps behind him. He waits a few minutes. Then he gets up and runs.

* * *

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Fishbones, we have been over this!" Jinx walks through the streets of Zaun, approaching the outskirts of the city. " _You might inconvenience people and hurt their feelings._ UGH, Fishbones, you are the worst weapon ever." Jinx slams the side of Fishbones and begins mumbling to herself, continuing the conversation inaudibly. Rats scurry across the street jumping in and out of cracks in the walls, pipes and pavement as Jinx passes by. No one seems to be on the street, except for a few haggard people only human through their shape, but mutated beyond recognition. Limbs often do not function, their breath raspy. Bumps and body parts growing from the weirdest locations. _Singed and Mundo, such a great pairing when they dump their chemicals into the street… Try and help them, give them food or at least end their misery… Shut up…_ Jinx hits Fishbones again and turns a corner where she faces a pub.

The door slams open and the pub grows quiet. Jinx enters twirling one of her braids, each step she takes exaggerated. In her other hand, she twirls Zap. A wide smirk envelopes her face. As empty as the streets were, the pub is packed, each seat seemingly full and each glass quickly empty. Rooms can be rented here, so most travelers usually end up in this particular pub if a night's stay is required. It is far enough away to escape much of the crime and pollution of the city, but close enough to conduct business when the day breaks. With each step she takes, the sweat and liquor-covered bodies part. Then she pauses, grinning. A hooded man sits at the bar in front of her, casually sipping his drink. She stops twirling Zap and shoots the counter in front of the man, laughing.

"Come on. Lets go if you know what is good for you," Jinx continues laughing and unclips a flame-chompers from her belt, tossing it in the air, over and over, its pin threatening to fall out.

The hooded man takes another sip, and pulls out a card from his sleeve, flipping it between his fingers, changing its color with each pass.

"No."

Jinx lets out another laugh and turns her back to the hooded man, heading toward the door. Two steps from the exit, she throws flame-chompers one more time behind her.

Where the pin finally falls out.

Panic fills the pub as they all desperately try to make it for the door, but it is already too late. Jinx leaves. Fire fills the air, as a few seconds later the grenade goes off and engulfs the pub in a colorful explosion.

Jinx leans against one of the only wooden beams still upright. "Idiots," she smirks, "right, Fishbones?" She chuckles and begins to shine the weapon with her palm.

Suddenly the hooded man appears from the shadows, his face now covered by a hat rather than a hood, leaning against the remains of the building. Another card appears in his hand, sliding between his fingers with grace and skill. As the card flips from one side to another, its color changes: blue, red. Gold.

"What do you want?"

Jinx laughs and pushes away from the wooden beam she was leaning on, approaching the man. "Well, explosions, bombs, MORE EXPLOSIONS…!"

"That is not why you are here though, is it?"

"No," she smurks, "I am ready to do something a bit more fun than blowing up rats. You are going to get me to Piltover, Tobias."

Twisted Fate stops twirling the card in his hand and looks at her.

"And why should I do that?" he asks, each syllable said as sharp as a knife.

"Well," Jinx says, still approaching TF, once again twirling her braid with one hand, "you see, I am holding multiple weapons of mass destruction, which I am not afraid to activate…" Her smirk widens, "… Also, I just gave you a whole pub to pillage. Most of them are dead anyway, so just go ahead and take their belongings. Like this, for example." Jinx reaches down on the ground and picks up a partially charred leather bag. She throws it across the remaining distance between them and he catches it with one hand. A couple seconds pass before he finally unstiffens enough to look into the pouch. It is full of gold and silver, enough to last a peasant man for three years. All in one bag. Twisted Fate stuffs it into his pocket.

"When do you want to go?" More a bored statement than a question, he looks forward at nothing in particular. Once again, he is playing with a card in his hand. Blue. Red. Gold.

"Now. Get me under the docks, over in Piltover."

"Under the docks?" He asks half-heartedly.

"Under the docks."

The card in Twisted Fate's hand stops, the red side facing Jinx. Dozens and dozens of cards begin to stream out of his sleeves, encircling the two of them. Wind roars in their ears, loud and furious. Yet even with the volume, Jinx's laughter masks it. Her smile explodes and she tries to poke, unsuccessfully, at the cards, as they dance around her. Then one and a half seconds later, they disappear, the air suddenly in an unsettling calm.

"Hmph," Ekko sits around the corner of the building, his forehead in his hand. _So that is how she disappeared_ , he thinks. Ekko needs to get to Piltover before she does, yet even with a few hours lead, it can take days to reach Piltover, if he can even make it there alive at night. And at that point, it could be too late. Pictures rush through his head. Explosions where Jinx's body was scattered in pieces across buildings. Her carcass full of bullet holes. Memories that had happened, but he did everything he could to change. Rubbing his forehead, Ekko slumps to the ground. _I can't get to her, she really left…_ He slams his fist on the ground and screams in frustration. The sounds of flustered rats accompanies the echo of his voice. He needs to bribe Twisted Fate somehow, but with what? There is no way he can do that. Getting a ride from one of the few who own any sort of vehicle would most certainly secure his death. Even then there is no ground unit fast enough to get him to Piltover in a couple hours.

A sudden breeze cuts through the alley where he sits. A piece of paper falls on his lap, a flyer for a festival that just finished today. The Festival of Flight.

The one that finished a couple hours ago in Zaun with the fastest Zeppelin in history. The one that should have already returned to Piltover by now.

Ekko slams his palm on the dial and he is sitting on the building's edge once again, Jinx's footsteps behind him. A smile on his face.


End file.
